Articles Posted inDrunk Driving Accidents

Memorial Day is the unofficial start to summer. It is also one of the deadliest holidays for drivers and passengers. Car accident injuries claimed 397 lives during the 2010 Memorial Day weekend, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and many organizations are joining in the effort to spread knowledge about dangerous habits on the roadways. But for Philadelphia personal injury lawyer Joel Feldman, dedicating a day to teaching young drivers about the consequences of driving while distracted is just another day.

Joel Feldman, a shareholder at the prominent Pennsylvania injury law firm Anapol Weiss, founded End Distracted Driving (EndDD.org) after his daughter Casey was killed by a distracted driver in 2009.

Pennsylvania ranked 35. That means the state ranks on the higher end of DUI traffic deaths. There were 433 DUI fatalities. MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) has been working diligently in Pennsylvania for years to get stronger interlock legislation, but the Legislature has still not acted.

To combat drunk driving nationwide, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched a concentrated initiative titled “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.” The plan involves a mix of “high-visibility enforcement and public awareness messaging,” according to the NHTSA, which will involve State Highway Safety Offices and law enforcement officials working together in tandem.

While the crackdown is national, during the period August 19-September 5, specific approaches to the issue vary by state and are profiled on the NHTSA website. For Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is advocating an extension to the federal program called “Border to Border,” which stands for increased, comprehensive enforcement from state border to state border as well as county line to county line to fight impaired driving.

Over 600 municipal police departments, all state troopers, and numerous university/ campus police departments will engage in the program by conducting a multitude of sobriety checkpoints and roaming patrols. The “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” motto will be advertised on highway video message boards throughout the state, while publicity events in each one of Pennsylvania’s six highway safety regions are also planned.